'UNRWA reform' effort will harm Middle East peace effort ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Hill by Victor Kattan - (Blog) May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Israel’s friends in Washington are at it again, working to discredit the United Nations and its specialized agencies in the Middle East. Last October, the chief target of their wrath was the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) because its member states admitted Palestine as a member after more than two-thirds rejected American intimidation and chose to vote in favor. In response, and after much pressure from pro-Israel groups and U.S. » Read more

Going Directly To the Wastebasket: Another Plan for the “Peace Process” ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Council On Foreign Relations by Elliott Abrams - (Analysis) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am Some “peace processors” never give up. In the New York Times today, four of them try an old and very bad idea: forget about negotiations, and substitute the views of some un-elected elderly “statesmen” and of the UN Security Council. » Read more

From Across the Line: Now what? The West Bank scene ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Jerusalem Post by Nida' Tuma - (Opinion) May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Last September, the Palestinian UN initiative caused an international stir. Some described it as taking the lead; others – particularly Israelis – considered it a non-helpful unilateral move. Last year, the Palestinian political scene, stagnant for years, sprang back to life. Journalists went from talking about the slow progress after the Arab revolutions, to attending conferences, producing stories and looking for analysis on politics and international laws. » Read more

A Silwan Story: Palestinian Child Arrested, Abused by Israeli Authorities and Barred From Finishing 9th Grade ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Huffington Post by Moriel Rothman - (Blog) May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Someone is pounding on the door. It is 3:45 a.m. The pounding gets louder. The father goes to open the door, and immediately they enter: two men dressed in civilian clothes, flanked by police officers bearing heavy guns. They go straight towards the boy, who has pulled on a baggy sweatshirt and stepped out of his room, snake their hands under his arms, and take him. "He will only be gone for a few hours," they say. "Don't worry." Outside the house, the boy's hands are tied with plastic packaging bands and he is pushed into the police car. » Read more

Infiltrated by History ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Beast by Raphael Magarik - (Opinion) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am Israeli right-wingers have it rough. After last week’s Tel Aviv riot against African immigrants, likudniks like MKs Danny Danon (who said, “The infiltrators are a national plague”) and Miri Regev (who called immigrants “a cancer” and then backed off… sort of) came under fire for their inflammatory rhetoric. » Read more

Gaza's ripple effect ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National (Editorial) May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Two years ago today, Israeli commandoes boarded the Mavi Marmara, part of an aid flotilla headed to Gaza, killing nine of the 40 activists on board. The relationship between Israel and Turkey, previously close regional allies, has never recovered. » Read more

The Curious Case of Benjamin Netanyahu ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Foreign Policy by Aaron David Miller - (Opinion) May 30, 2012 - 12:00am James Baker temporarily banned him from the State Department. Madeleine Albright described him as an Israeli Newt Gingrich (and it wasn't a compliment). Bill Clinton emerged from his first meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996 (then serving his first term as prime minister) more than a little annoyed by his brash self-confidence. "Who's the fucking superpower here?" Clinton exclaimed to aides. Netanyahu is the first Israeli premier to trigger truly bipartisan recoil. » Read more

The Nakba is alive for both Jews and Arabs ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz by Salman Masalha - (Opinion) May 31, 2012 - 12:00am Let's set aside for a moment the discourse about human rights and the debate about natural rights, because no salvation will come from them. Moreover, they will never lead to a solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On the contrary, they pour oil on the flames and encourage people to continue wallowing in the mud. » Read more

'Security officials oppose Iran strike' ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ynetnews by Attila Somfalvi - May 31, 2012 - 12:00am The majority of Israel's defense chiefs are against a military strike in Iran at this time, Ynet has learned. » Read more

Eli Yishai: Israeli women afraid to report rape by African migrants due to AIDS stigma ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Haaretz May 31, 2012 - 12:00am In further remarks on migrant workers from Africa, Interior Minister Eli Yishai said Thursday that many Israeli women have been raped by migrant workers “but do not complain out of fear of being stigmatized as having contracted AIDS.” In an interview with Israeli newspaper Maariv, Yishai stated that the solution to the current problem is “more prisons and migrant detention camps," and that Israel must “prepare more military bases where we can jail all of them without exception.” » Read more